This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of fragmenting elongated articles, and more particularly, relates to an apparatus for and method of fragmenting or subdividing railroad rails.
As the iron rails of railroad tracks age and wear, it becomes necessary to remove and replace the worn rails. In other instances, where the bed is no longer in use, it is desirable to remove all of the rails. Since the rails as removed from the beds are too long for convenient handling and processing, it is desirable to fragment the rails for ease of shipment and subsequent re-melting and re-forging.
Machines have been developed for fragmenting rails and other elongated articles into smaller pieces such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,276,278 issued to Smallwood Aug. 20, 1918 for "Machine For Breaking Steel Into Shell Blanks"; U.S. Pat. No. 1,284,312 issued to Glover Nov. 12, 1918 for "Mechanism For Breaking Steel Bars"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,828 issued to Crawley Aug. 31, 1982 for "Railroad Rail Fragmenting Apparatus and Method" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,345 issued to Solomon et al. Apr. 24, 1984 for "Rail Lifting And Cutting Machine".
The Smallwood '278 patent describes a machine for breaking metallic bars into determinate lengths by pressure being brought to bear on an overhanging or cantilevered portion of the bar, which has been previously nicked at the point where it is desired to have the break occur. The breaking member is designed to be reciprocated substantially vertically and ordinarily extends approximately vertically.
The Crawley '828 patent describes a rail fragmenting apparatus and method in which a righting means is employed for engaging the rails and shifting them to an upright position. Chisel means place oppositely arranged notches in the outer edges of the base flanges of the rails. Pressure is brought to bear on the outer base flanges of the rails until fracture occurs. Breaking occurs by actuation of laterally spaced pairs of plunger and cylinder assemblies perpendicular to the rails and located downstream from the notched edges.
The Solomon '345 patent describes an apparatus for simultaneously removing and severing rails from a rail bed. In one embodiment, a ram is used which is essentially perpendicular to the rail throughout the initial bending and final severing of the rail. In an alternative embodiment, pivotal movement of a hammer and blade around a shaft means located above the rail causes the rail to sever along the score line previously made in the top surface of the rail by the blade mechanism. The shaft about which the hammer and blade rotate is located above the rails to be fragmented. The rocking action of the hammer and blade means facilitates the severing of the rail.
The Glover '312 patent describes a mechanism for breaking bars which uses a knife to nick or score the bar and a die which inclines from the front downward toward the rear so that the greatest possible force of the die will be applied at the greatest possible distance from the nicked or scored portion of the bar.
For the present invention, it is highly desirable to have a rail fragmenting apparatus which provides a smooth and efficient breaking means. While all of the above discussed patents describe a method for severing rails or bars, they all rely on a breaking member which imparts a guillotine type action placing an impact load on the bars being broken. In particular, the breaking members of these earlier devices travel in a substantially vertical direction, not an arcing fashion. Moreover, none of these devices describe a breaking bar which pivots around a shaft or pin located below the rail. As a result, the operation of these earlier devices requires a great amount of force to break the nicked rail and can cause the entire apparatus to be jolted through the impact load. Repeated use of such apparatus with the associated imbalances causes parts to become loosened or weakened. In addition, in the apparatus which uses a pivoting breaking member, the location of the pivoting shaft above the rail or bar being broken provides reduced breaking forces.
It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide an improved rail cropper which operates more smoothly and efficiently.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of the type set forth in which the breaking member has an arcing motion rather than a guillotine motion.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of the type set forth in which the breaking member imparts a bending action to the rail rather than an impact load.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of the type set forth in which the breaking member pivots around a shaft or pin located below the rails to provide greater breaking forces.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and appended claims, and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.